{"id":1075,"date":"2025-10-24T08:25:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T08:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/2025\/10\/24\/2025-10-24-holleman-engages-with-students\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T23:09:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T23:09:37","slug":"2025-10-24-holleman-engages-with-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/2025\/10\/24\/2025-10-24-holleman-engages-with-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Holleman engages with\u00a0students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Julia Kramer<\/a> · Contributing Writer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not every day that someone has the chance to sit around a table and enjoy a conversation with an award-winning novelist. However, that is exactly the opportunity had by students at Grove City College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heather Holleman, winner of Christianity Today\u2019s 2024 Book Awards for her novel \u201cThis Seat\u2019s Saved,\u201d held a workshop on campus on Oct. 14 and spoke for Wednesday chapel on Oct. 15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a fellow writing professor, I had heard for some time about her work,\u201d Adam Loretto, associate professor of English, said. \u201cWe had the opportunity to meet in State College in the last year, and we connected immediately over our mutual profession and love for Grove City. The research she has done and the particular expertise she has as a writer and instructor are helpful only for how they help us see Jesus better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noting this passion, Loretto and Chaplain Donald Opitz looked to bring Holleman to Grove City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advertised just days in advance, and with fall break approaching, attendance for her workshop was low, but it provided the students who came with a one-of-a-kind opportunity. Not pressed for time or forced to divide attention between many people, Holleman could answer individual questions and foster an intimate time of reading and discussion about her novel, the science of narrative formation and the logistics of publishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holleman read from her book, bringing alive the story of Elita Brown, a seventh-grade girl whose misadventures begin when she could not sit at what she said was the \u201cpopular table.\u201d However, as Holleman reached this scene, she set the book down with a laugh and asked the discussion circle for its thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This discussion moved from her novel to how the students could go about writing their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYoung adults, especially young girls, struggle violently with the need to look like the popular kids and have access to the \u2018inner ring,\u2019 and I think Holleman\u2019s mission to capture this in story and provide an alternate hope is powerful,\u201d sophomore Grace Cordle said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Holleman, providing this \u201calternate hope\u201d is essential not just for evangelism purposes, but for assuring the quality of her book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou wanna know how to write a bestseller?\u201d Holleman said during her conversation. \u201cJust follow the hero\u2019s journey.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hero\u2019s journey is a template of the sequence of events found in almost every story. It takes an individual from the ordinary world and calls him to adventure. On the journey, he meets friends and mentors who help him undergo many trials. This culminates in the hero being faced with his deepest fears or greatest temptations, which he is ultimately victorious over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are wired to want this story,\u201d Holleman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recounting later, Professor Joshua Mayo, chair of the Department of English, agreed, finding that even the process of writing fiction \u201cdone correctly\u201d may be a spiritual discipline as well as a creative endeavor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStory writing demands the whole of our synthetic imagination,\u201d Mayo said. \u201cIt asks us not only what we think, but also what we love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether attendees were aspiring novelists or contented readers, Holleman\u2019s discussion provided the conceptual and practical tools needed to write a compelling novel and ultimately understand the gospel truths that make it so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holleman offers various other avenues to connect with students and those interested in Christian ministry. Those interested can find her recorded chapel lecture on \u201cSeated with Christ\u201d and \u201cThe Six Conversations Workshop\u201d on my.gcc.edu or on her blog, \u201cLive with Flair,\u201d at heather-holleman.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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